Behavioral neuroscience

Behavioral Neuroscience is a subfield of neuroscience that focuses on how the brain affects behavior. This field of study combines both the psychology and biology disciplines and uses a variety of different scientific techniques to understand how the brain influences behavior.

Overview

Behavioral neuroscience, also known as biological psychology, biopsychology, or psychobiology, is the application of the principles of biology to the study of physiological, genetic, and developmental mechanisms of behavior in humans and other animals.

History

Behavioral neuroscience as a scientific discipline emerged from a variety of scientific and philosophical traditions in the 18th and 19th centuries. In philosophy, people like René Descartes proposed physical models to explain animal and human behavior. Descartes, for example, suggested that the pineal gland, a midline unpaired structure in the brain of many organisms, was the point of contact between mind and body. Descartes also elaborated on a theory in which the pneuma filled the brain and circulated the ventricles of the brain, pulsing the muscles and nerves.

Research Methods

Behavioral neuroscientists use a variety of devices and techniques to measure and manipulate the brain to better understand its functions. These techniques include Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and Positron emission tomography (PET) scans, which allow researchers to observe the brain in action. Other techniques include Electroencephalography (EEG) and Magnetoencephalography (MEG), which measure electrical and magnetic activity in the brain.

Applications

The findings from behavioral neuroscience are widely used in fields such as psychiatry, neuropsychology, pharmacology, and drug rehabilitation, and are also used in the legal system, particularly in cases involving brain damage or brain disorders.

See Also

• Cognitive neuroscience
• Neuropsychology
• Psychiatry
• Psychopharmacology

References

Behavioral neuroscience Resources
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